Turning the Page

Today I am leaving Limoges; the sleepy little town in the middle of France that I have called home for the past four months. I have been wishing to leave this place for so long now. But, here at the very end I am a little sad to be leaving. I have made good friends here. I am just now beginning to feel at home in this city. And, I have made significant gains in speaking French. I wonder if I stayed longer how much more I would learn.

Yesterday, I cried while standing on the platform at the train station waving goodbye to friends heading off to Paris to catch a plane home. It hit me at that moment that the semester was really over. I have finished this short chapter in my life. I have turned the page right when the story was getting good and found it cut short.

So, today, as I turn the page on a chapter finished, I look forward to what God has written for the next chapter in my life. I know the basic outline. I will be in Norman among friends in a place that has been home to me far longer than this small town in France. In that I take great comfort.

A Strange Thing that Happens Sometimes

In the early morning hours between sleep and waking, I have the fleeting impression that I am in my bed at home in Dallas. One such morning I heard someone banging around in the small kitchen down the hall, and I was sure it was my mom in the kitchen downstairs cooking breakfast for everyone. I could also hear the trash truck outside my window on its weekly round emptying the trash cans, and I was sure it was my dad driving across the front yard in the truck pulling the noisy, rickety cattle trailer we have. I laid there for a few minutes completely convinced I was at home sleeping in on a Saturday morning wishing my parents weren't being so loud. But as I rolled over in my tiny bed and hit the wall, reality struck full force. It was not Mom making noise in the kitchen, and it was not Dad outside my window rattling along. I am in France, alone in my room, being awakened by the sounds of a busy dormitory far from a Saturday morning at home.

This has happened several times, maybe three or four times. Its strange, but pretty soon I will be waking up at home in Dallas. As of today, I have less than three weeks to go here in France.

A New Look

I found this awesome site with free backgrounds for blogs, and I escaped the boring black. Yippee!! I think now I will be more motivated to blog....maybe.

Thanks for the tip Anna.

Climbing on Castles

A couple of weeks ago a few friends and I were taken to see the oldest castle in this region of France. It was built sometime in the Middle Ages. I don't remember what it is called, but Richard the Lionheart made his home there for awhile.

The castle is in ruins now, but it was originally build as a fortress. Notice the different sizes of windows. The small ones are the originals. The larger ones would have been cut in during the renaissance when it became fashionable to live in a castle and outdated to have fortresses.

Sitting on the wall by the front gate

The interior is closed to visitors. At the back, there is a break in the back wall and a small cage to stand in on the edge so as to look down into the ruins. We didn't stay in the cage.

Standing on a castle.

The room below me. It was a long way down.

Another room of the castle

Sitting on a wall

Mary was braver than me and climbed up the opposite wall. She is a little bit crazy.

I have lots more pictures of the castle, maybe I should have made this an album on facebook. I'll end with those.

I kept thinking about the hundreds of people who had lived in that place and what life would have been like for them. I'm surrounded by lots of history here in France, and much of the stories have been forgotten. I enjoyed seeing this place.

Five Hours in Paris

Last week I had a break from school, so I went to Berlin to visit old family friends. It was a great trip! (more about that later, maybe)

My journey took me through Paris. I took a train from Limoges to Paris and then flew from Paris to Berlin and then did the same on the way back. Making the connection from the train station to the airport in Paris on the way to Berlin almost proved disastrous. I scheduled two hours between arriving on the train and taking off on the plane. I thought that would be plenty of time. Wrong. The Paris metro system is crap, and I nearly got completely lost under Paris. Despairing thoughts like never seeing the light of day again started to creep into my mind. But, I resolved to not let that happen and managed to find my way to the airport with a little help from a very unwilling French women. But, thats not exactly what I intended to write about.

Anyways, on the way back I had five hours scheduled between landing in Paris and catching the train south back to Limoges. I thought it would be nice to wander around Paris a little bit, but I was a little apprehensive after my first encounter with Paris underground. Well, I arrived in Paris and boarded the dreaded metro and headed into the city. I selected the metro stop near Notre Dame. I wasn't sure what awaited me on the surface. I wasn't even sure how to get street level. I selected a set of stairs going up and started climbing. When I finally reached the top it was glorious. I stepped into the bright sunshine right in front of Notre Dome to the sound of the bells ringing.

My first view of Paris

I just sat down and soaked it all in. I couldn't believe I was actually in Paris standing in front of THE Notre Dame. I kept muttering to myself, "Oh my gosh, I'm in Paris." I had to convince myself it was real. After I collected myself and took a few pictures for other tourists I headed off to walk around the city. I didn't really know where I was going. I hadn't planned anything, and I didn't know where anything was. After walking down the Seine a little ways I spotted the Eiffel Tower. I made that my target and snapped pictures along the way.

Heres a few shots from the city.

I walked all around Paris for five hours dragging my suitcase the whole way. At the end my feet seriously hurt, but it was so much fun. I made it to the train station on the metro with no problems. Maybe the metro system isn't that terrible.

I'm going to spend a few days in Paris in December before flying home. I'm looking forward to spending more time in the city.

Fall comes to France

Fall is my favorite time of year, and Limoges is putting on it's brightest colors for me. It's just beautiful. Here are few pictures from around the city.

A Misplaced Heart

I miss my covenant family. I miss your smiles and hugs. I miss Sundays, worshiping together, confessing our sins together, eating lunch together, and Sunday nights talking on the Porch together.

I don't have anymore words to express this feeling. Pray for me friends.

Music in the Streets

Limoges is a small city, but it hasn't lacked in fun things to see and do. For the last month, there has been a city wide push to promote the arts which has provided lots of entertainment. This promotion of the arts has ranged from large scale productions of musicals, ballets and orchestras to caricature exhibits, French rappers from the Congo, and small time bands playing in the streets.

I ran across one such street playing band a few weeks ago. It was a very entertaining little show. This group has to be one of the most active bands I have ever seen, and the music was a lot of fun. I even bought their CD. The name of the band is Orchestre International Du Vetex. Check them out at www.oidv.net

Here are a few pictures.

24 hour Internet Connection

I finally have internet in my room!!!

After much putting off until tomorrow, the office here at the dorms saw fit to get the job done. They promised that there would be internet connection available in the rooms by the middle of September. That promise actually meant that's when they would start the process of connecting the buildings here. So, after much waiting, and not very patiently I might add, I no longer have to sit in the empty hallway of the chemistry building on campus to catch a few minutes online before they kick me out at 8pm. I now have uninterrupted access to that precious link to my life back home in my cozy little room.

One Month

Today I have been in Limoges, France for exactly four weeks. At times it feels like I have been here forever. As if I have walked these streets and known the people I now spend my time with for years. It seems like this is how life has always been. I have memories of another place, other friends, and a different language. But, those memories are distant. At other times, those memories come crashing into the forefront of my thoughts, and I am transported home. I see the faces of dear friends and hear their voices vividly. I recall moments of laughter and rehearse conversations as if I were living those moments over again. My heart breaks, and I long to be back in the States. At these times I realize my time here has been pretty short and four months to live away from home isn't that long in the grand scheme of things. That is a comforting thought. (And there is always Facebook. Keep writing to me friends. I may not respond very quickly, but I'm reading every word.)

This first month has been one of much transition. Obviously moving to a foreign country is a huge transition, but I've found myself changing in unexpected ways. A few days after arriving in Limoges I went to the orientation for exchange students. The whole thing was in rapid French, and I had absolutely no idea what was going on the whole time. I felt so overwhelmed. Before I arrived in France I had this idea that at the end of four months I would be fluent in French and able to converse at ease. That rosy idea was shattered at the orientation. I knew then that learning to speak French was going to be a long slow processes for me. But, I was overwhelmed for more than the difficulty with the language. The end of one week found me completely freaked out about being here. A knot of fear was perpetually lodged in my stomach. I felt alone and helpless and very inadequate. All my coping skills were failing, and I cried myself to sleep most nights. However, I stopped worrying long enough to pray and felt so much more at peace about the whole situation. I realized I had been deeply concerned about how people here perceive me and I had been trusting in my own ability to succeed. I didn't want to look foolish, and I definitely didn't want to admit that I was inadequate in anyway.

But, you see, I was trying to live for my own glory in all those attempts at looking like I have everything together. As a friend put it so well in an email to me, this situation shows me for who I really am, lost and incapable in every way without Christ. Christ has come and he covers my inadequacies with his life, and he has not left me alone. In this truth I have found great freedom. I don't speak French very well, but I am here to learn and looking foolish in the process in ok. I don't have that knot of fear anymore. When I live acknowledging my failures, I can point to the work of Christ on my behalf and rest in his ability.

Hey, good news, I get internet in my room TOMORROW!! So, I will have more time for blogging. I know the posts have been more than sparse.

Hello from France

I promised all you Norman dwellers and dear friends that I would start a blog to keep everyone posted on what's happening here on the other side of the Atlantic.

Well, I started my journey to Limoges, France on August 31. I made a day stop over in London and then caught a cheap flight on to France. The day in London consisted of stumbling sleepily on and off the Underground and through city streets with the words 'please mind the gap' running through my mind. I saw lots of wonderfully old buildings, ate a plate of real English 'Fish and Chips', and took a nap in a beautiful old park. All in all, it was a good day. But, I wish I could have had someone to share it with. I think some day I would like to go back to England and stay a bit longer.

Here are a few pictures from the day.

The Beginning

One year ago I made a promise. I resolved to start a blog over the summer. Well, it's a year late, but I've done it. Let the blogging adventure begin.